A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure - APJ Abdul Kalam story
APJ Abdul Kalam was among
India’s best-known scientists before he became the country’s President. An
alumnus of the Madras Institute of Technology, he worked for the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) where he helped launch India’s first satellites
into orbit. Later, Kalam worked on developing missiles and other strategic
weapons; he was widely regarded as a national hero for leading India’s nuclear
weapons tests in 1998. In 2002, Kalam was named the country’s President, and he
held that position until 2007. During the Wharton India
Economic Forum in Philadelphia, Kalam spoke with India
Knowledge@Wharton about his career as a scientist, his vision for India’s
future, and the most important traits for leaders, among other issues. An
edited transcript of the interview follows:
Kalam: Well, I won’t call India chaotic, because order
comes from disorder. That is what is happening now.
I was elected President of India — from
2002 to 2007 — through a well-structured election process. Any leadership —
whether it is political leadership or leadership in technology — requires that
the leader have six traits. What are these traits?
First, the leader must have vision. Without
vision, you cannot be a leader. Second, the leader must be able to travel into
an unexplored path. Normally the tendency is for people to travel along
well-laid out ways. Third, the leader must know how to manage success, and even
more importantly, failure.
India
Knowledge@Wharton: Could you give an example, from your
own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?
Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I
became the project director of India’s satellite launch vehicle program,
commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India’s “Rohini” satellite into
orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources — but was told clearly
that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people
worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.
By 1979 — I think the month was August — we
thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center
for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began
to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute
later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that
some control components were not in order. My experts — I had four or five of
them with me — told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there
was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode,
and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the
second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit,
the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure.
That day, the chairman of the Indian Space
Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The
launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference — where journalists from around
the world were present — was at 7:45 am at ISRO’s satellite launch range in
Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of
the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took
responsibility for the failure — he said that the team had worked very hard,
but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in
another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project
director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the
failure as chairman of the organization.
The next year, in July 1980, we tried again
to launch the satellite — and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was
jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and
told me, “You conduct the press conference today.”
I learned a very important lesson that day.
When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When
success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned
did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.
India Knowledge@Wharton: That is a great story; thank you for sharing it.
Kalam: Continuing further with the six traits, the fourth
trait is that the leader should have the courage to make decisions. Fifth, the
leader should have nobility in management. Every action of the leader should be
transparent. And finally, the leader should work with integrity and succeed
with integrity.
All the traits apply especially to the
President of a country. The President continuously must be in touch with the
people. The Rashtrapati Bhavan [i.e., the presidential residence in New Delhi,
India’s equivalent of the White House] must become the people’s residence. When
I was President I travelled to every state, cutting across hills, deserts, and
seas. I was in touch with millions upon millions of people.
Thanks for reading my blog.
Are you Leading?
Dr. Deepak A. Patil
CEO, Lead ThySelf
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